Glass c. 1880

Curator: Before us we have a glass decanter and cordial set, dating back to about 1880 and currently residing at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The anonymous maker used the glass medium to create intricate feathery designs. Editor: My first impression is of refined elegance, and I can immediately imagine this set displayed prominently in a Victorian dining room, glittering in the candlelight. There's something quite pristine and ethereal about the clear glass. Curator: Certainly, glass making in this era reflected advancements in industrial techniques which drove an increasing appetite for domestic objects of higher artistry among an emerging middle class. These sets also promoted and cemented very specific social rituals around sharing alcoholic beverages. Editor: Looking closer at those feathery engravings, they remind me of stylized plumes or perhaps sheaves of wheat. Either way, they definitely evoke themes of abundance, harvest and gracious living – maybe intended to impart a subtle sense of elevated status for its owner? Curator: That’s an astute observation! Depictions of wealth and status were indeed potent status symbols for these newly established bourgeois homes. Possessing pieces like these showcased both affluence and adherence to high society. Editor: There's an interesting duality here; the transparency of the glass itself suggests purity and openness, but the stylized decoration feels deliberate, almost guarded. It really makes you think about what was being served or represented with it. Curator: Right, the imagery allowed these households to craft an intentional narrative around family identity. Sharing beverages from these glass pieces signified inclusion while projecting a very cultivated, yet conservative persona towards their wider community. Editor: So it's as much a statement about what they valued – and wanted others to think they valued – as it is about sheer aesthetic enjoyment. Very telling! Curator: Precisely. Objects like this set can tell us so much about how social dynamics shaped both domestic art production and the cultural values circulating in society at this moment. Editor: Looking at this through the lens of cultural memory and aspirational representation illuminates those bygone intentions encoded here, hidden just under the surface.